Short Film About The Real Dude Who Inspired Lebowski (Bonus: Why We Nicknamed Our Kid The Dude)

Last weekend, hubby and I took the Dude rafting. And, oddly enough, our guide's nickname was also "The Dude". Our guide is a sweet, laid back outdoorsy guy with a young family. And his friends really think he espouses the philosophy of The Big Lebowski, so they assigned him that nickname. They even throw Lebowski parties in his honour.

In our case, our Dude's nickname was come by completely differently. I had an ultrasound at 22 weeks in which we were informed we were having a girl. Up till that point, I'd been convinced I was pregnant with a boy. It took some effort to wrap my mind around barbies and pink things, since I'm so not a girly girl. Months later when our little girl was overdue, I went for another ultrasound. And has this exchange:

Technician: "Why do you keep saying, 'She?'"
Me: "Um, because I told I am having a girl."
Technician: "Uh, no. That's a boy."
Me: *head explodes*

When he was born the next day, he was all boy. From day one, no one ever asked me his gender. He just oozed boy-ness. And so we just started calling him The Dude, and even included it in his birth announcement. It's stuck ever since.

Now, our Dude doesn't know the movie from which his nickname comes. Yet. We didn't randomly choose his nickname; it was just a natural fit. But we know that there is a day coming in which he will find out about the movie, and we will have to deal with the consequences if he's not too thrilled by the association with Lebowski.

In order to soften the blow, we might show him this documentary first. This is a short film about Jeff Dowd, the dude the Cohen brothers met long ago who served as the inspiration for Jeff Bridge's The Dude.

It turns out that The Real Dude is a mix of uber hippy and celebrity. He was a conscientious objector of the Vietnam War, an orator, an protest organizer, part of the Gainesville 8, an original participant in the Sundance independent film movement and an indie film producer and promoter in his own right. (Fern Gully, anyone?) He continues to speak, fight racism, war and support environmental causes, as well as attend Lebowski themed events where he is treated like an absolute rock star.

It's an interesting story, especially if you loved the movie. Check out the whole thing below. Be warned though, the language is definitely NSFW and it runs 18 minutes. I'm sure 'the Dude abides'.